Despite the currency of open access in policy as a result of the success of open-source software and higher layers associated with open access regimes for the internet, globally there is little evidence that mandating it ensures increased competition in services, improved efficiency, decreased prices, high quality or universal service. A growing body of evidence from mature markets indicates that the adoption of mandatory open access network strategies may come at the expense of other critical objectives such as investment and innovation. Across the world and in SA, as market complexity increases and new technological waves drive investment in competitive networks, voluntary commercial open access solutions are creating efficiencies, reducing duplication of investments and exponentially driving down prices. This is seen in the nondiscriminatory, transparent pricing offered by undersea cable operators and terrestrial fibre networks as well as complementary fibre investments by erstwh...
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